Desenvolvimento e caracterização de filmes comestíveis à base de tomate (Lycopersicon esculentum)

Abstract

The growing search for alternatives to packaging from non-renewable sourcesdrives research into the use of biopolymers and the development of biodegradablepackaging. In this context, several possibilities exist for the use of natural polymers, amongthem starch has been widely used, both in its native form and in its modified form. Theincorporation of antioxidant agents, has been widely employed in the development offilms,. A viable alternative is adding fruit pulp, reconciling its antioxidant properties,aroma and color functioning as a light barrier. In the development of edible films, it isimportant to study their mechanical, thermal and barrier properties in order to guaranteethe preservation of the packed food. The study aimed to develop edible films based onarrowwood starch and tomato pulp, seeking the interaction between the physical propertiesof the starch and the chemical properties of the pulp. For the development of the films, thepulps of 4 tomato varieties (Dutch, Cherry, Long Life and Rasteiro) were analyzed forsoluble solids, acidity, pH, aw, moisture, lycopene, β-carotene, phenolic compounds,activity antioxidant and color in order to choose the variety to present higher content ofbioactive compounds to develop the packaging. The pulp of the variety Rasteiro wasdistinguished by the high contents of lycopene and β-carotene and has been chosen for theelaboration of the films. The films were prepared by varying the starch content of arrowroot(5% and 7%), using as plasticizers (5% and 10%) glycerol and sorbitol. The use of the pulpas solvent directly influenced the color of the films, and consequently the opacity (51.78 to54.52%). For the solubility (38.09 to 47.39%), it was possible to verify the influence of thestarch content and the plasticizer type in the studied properties. The water vaporpermeability ranged from 0.76 to 1.08 (gmm / m2hKPA) for the films 5A5S and 7A10G,respectively. It was possible to quantify phenolic compounds (1984,53 to 2761,27 mg EA/ kg), flavonoids (592,47 to 733,27 mg EQ / kg) and antioxidants in ABTS methods (12.95to 17.64 μM Trolox / g ) and DPPH (6.72 to 9.64 EC50 g sample / g DPPH) of the filmsstudied for lycopene (198.88 to 342.12 μg / gms) and β-carotene (151.09 to 223.58 μg / gms) it was not possible to fully extract the pigments in solvent due to the interactions duringthe gelation and drying of the films. Based on the characteristics studied, the films presentpotential as food packaging.